Madan no Ou to Vanadis

Madan no Ou to Vanadis
Lord Marksman and Vanadis

http://i.imgur.com/aDdjlkL.jpg

Description: Set in a Fantasy counterpart of Western Europe, Tigrevurmud Vorn, Count of Alsace in the service of the country of Brune, got a taste of the power of one of the seven War Maidens known as Vanadis, those granted the power of the dragons. After he was defeated on the battlefield by Eleonora Viltaria, she decided to spare his life after seeing his skills, and declared that she now owns him.

AniDB | ANN

[HorribleSubs] Madan no Ou to Vanadis - 01



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Now this is a proper fantasy series.

Or at the very least a promising one.

Putting the fanservice aside, it really does have that nice balance between Record of the Lodoss War and Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari, without being super dry like Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu. It has the right amount of atmosphere. Not too silly or absurd, and doesn't try to take itself too serious when it has no right to do so.

The characters are equally balanced. Eleonora gives excessively harsh punishments out, but relents on them just as easily. She's meant to be a warrior, and as such doesn't shriek in terror when someone sees her naked or react violently. Her attitude is fitting for someone who has enough power to do whatever the hell they want.

Limalisha, her second, is stern and very cold as Eleonora is flighty.

Tigre is thankfully neither weak, nor cocky. He's a just lord who cares for his people, and has loyalty. He wasn't willing to throw in with Eleonora because she's strong and asked him to. He was willing to wait for the ransom to be paid so he could return to his own lands. He isn't some sort of Übermensch either, capable of taking down divinely blessed war maidens with his skill. He specializes in one area, and shows that skill accordingly. He's considered trash by his peers for it, but thinks big picture.

The animation was good, the cast is good, and while the character design is a little...top heavy, it's not that overt or too much of a focus.

I'm a little worried for the power scale here. Realistically speaking Tigre's archery is unnatural, but since it's his only skill (not counting charming the female enemy commander) and thus leaves him highly vulnerable, it's cool. However, what about these Vanadis? Do they have anything at all that could threaten them?

A very entertaining first episode. I liked the relaxed atmosphere many of the characters carried around. Although Eleonora gave me quite a childish impression, which doesn't clash with Ryll's impression of being so powerful she can do whatever she wants. Childish or romanticist, seeking some kind of beauty even in the bloody battle and being disappointed when the enemy didn't perform well enough to fulfill her image of what war should be like.

I wonder if Tigre's home land's ruler is performing some kind of ethic cleansing and unification with centralization of power. Maybe the army was meant to be defeated and was composed mainly of folks the king wanted to get rid of. The fact he's marching to Tigre's county supports that. With the feudal vassal now absent, the ruler might be thinking of claiming the land. That's how nations got stronger when feudalism became obsolete and was replaced by absolute monarchies.

It's hard to judge based on that ep alone, but that felt good for a relatively average ep.We got lots of stereotypes and anime tropes. The kind of first ep that tries everything to get an audience.
I can't help but think Tigre's archer involves either forcing some future events to happen or predicting them.


Because hitting the foot in that setting is impossible. Even knowing the height and speed of the guy.
I even wondered if, since the arrow comes from high and behind, he should have had it in the shoulder instead.
But this is fantasy anime.

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Originally Posted by Kraco

...ethic cleansing...

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This made my day.

I've been reading the manga for a while now so I was quite pleased when I found out this would be an anime for this season.

Eleonora reminds a lot of Medaka with her behavior.

This was a fantastic adaptation. The light novel was not delivered as well. Tigre's VA was really good at making him more human and likable. Ellen was also adorable. I'm so glad they used a different art style from the LN, though I would have wanted less top heavy designs.

The fan service was a bit distracting, but it is necessary for sales so I'm all for it if I get to see this story animated.

Oh, I forgot a little gripe:
I wish they had time/money to have their foreign language lines checked before using them.
Not the first time it happens in anime and dorama, regardless of budget...
I really can't understand the French they used on that little line in the intro that will probably be there every ep...

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Originally Posted by David75

Oh, I forgot a little gripe:
I wish they had time/money to have their foreign language lines checked before using them.
Not the first time it happens in anime and dorama, regardless of budget...
I really can't understand the French they used on that little line in the intro that will probably be there every ep...

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Stuff like that is really annoying. If you can't speak a foreign language in the slightest, you shouldn't use it.
It's embarassing. That being said, it seems that pretty much noone in Japan is able to speak anything but japanese, so they might as well sing the theme song of Civ5 and the audience wouldn't even notice it.

Lim is the best girl already
A side ponytail..I can't get enough of them. Too bad she won't win, because of this this stupid "first girl wins"-thing in anime, but if by any chance this ends up being a harem show, I doubt anything serious will happen.

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Ellen was also adorable. I'm so glad they used a different art style from the LN

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I count on you to tell us / or me if the rest doesn't want to hear it whenever the anime is going into a different direction than the LN/Manga.
By the looks of it, using google, the Illustrations/pictures (especially the character design... the eyes, oh god) are too awkward for me.

So I'll start with the anime to burn its design into my head before I (if it is any good) start reading the LN.
The setting is really appealing so far and the story is interesting enough - I'll follow this for sure

Episode 2 - HS




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A nice carbon fiber bow there, dude. Of course it wouldn't do for Tigre to have some cheap run-of-the-mill bow while Eleonora sports the magical sword.

Anybody who didn't foresee the scumbag son of a lord getting an arrow through his hand when he was about to test Titta's maidenly qualities hasn't watched enough of anything. Tigre isn't an ordinary human, for sure, to catch the arrow from the air, even if it did hurt his hand. Otherwise what happened in his episode wasn't so extraordinary. Nobles switching sides happened all the time in the history. More of a norm than an exception.

Tigre caught the arrow, nocked it, and then shot the shooter in a split second.

Badassery.

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Originally Posted by shinta|hikari

Tigre caught the arrow, nocked it, and then shot the shooter in a split second.

Badassery.

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I wonder if it's a tribute to a similar scene in Hokuto no Ken. A guy shoots a crossbow arrow, Ken catches it mid-air with two fingers and at the same time throws it back head-shoting the guy (like Tigre).

his black bow would be kinda in bad shape after it was kept stringed for few years. on the display.

That scene was pretty badass but as an enemy archer. That guy failed. I mean the commander of the opposing force is right there as well. Why not aim at her head instead of a civilian?

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Originally Posted by Xelbair

his black bow would be kinda in bad shape after it was kept stringed for few years. on the display.

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Possibly it's such an uber bow, passed down from the father to the son for generations (which already speaks of its magical quality), that if it was ruined like a normal bow, they wouldn't keep it stringed all the time. Or are you expecting to see early in the next episode a scene where the dude tries to let the first arrow fly, only to have the bow snap broken? He would then lament that, perhaps, after all, they shouldn't have kept it stringed for 100 years?

The web special for this show mentioned a special bow, not sure if its considered a spoiler if I'd say any more? Only watched episode 00 of it though

I wonder how they managed to enter the town..especially with troops. The palisade surrounding it didn't look very large.. the enemy camp was set on a highground surveying the town. You'd think some of the 3.000 men would notice something. If that guy was a somewhat able commander, he'd have scouts everywhere too.

The only way I can think of would be the forest where some of the villagers hid.

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Originally Posted by KrayZ33

I wonder how they managed to enter the town

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Like Tigre said, he knows his own land. He must have known a secret route in.

[HorribleSubs] Madan no Ou to Vanadis - 03



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I'm a little disappointed that Tigre went for somehow goading Zion into putting his shield in the same spot instead of going for the moving target bombardment (clout style) that we saw in the first episode. Just hit him directly in the skull since the dumbass wasn't wearing a helmet. Tigre is fast enough on the draw to shoot him in the throat if he raises his shield up.

I also appreciate that Vanadis understands how boobie armors should look to be functional. Limalisha's armor generally deflects blows away from the center of her chest, rather than perfectly encapsulating her boobs individually the way we usually see.

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Originally Posted by Ryllharu

I'm a little disappointed that Tigre went for somehow goading Zion into putting his shield in the same spot instead of going for the moving target bombardment (clout style) that we saw in the first episode. Just hit him directly in the skull since the dumbass wasn't wearing a helmet. Tigre is fast enough on the draw to shoot him in the throat if he raises his shield up.

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I'm not disappointed. He had two reasons to do it like this: To show the douche that he could create enough force with his bow and skills to actually crush the enemy defenses, just like one might properly with a lance. Though naturally one might put the lance through a head without a helmet just as easily, but this way he was making quite a point. On the other hand, he was surely trying to impress Eleonora by choosing the most challenging way to pull it off. And one might say he succeeded beyond expectations since he impressed not only the War Maiden but her sword as well!

Looks like carbon fiber conducts not only electricity but also magic! Good to know.

I have to say the dragons were a severe letdown. I hope these were from the bottom of the barrel.

Zion didn't even fight with one, he only fled on it. Surely a huge waste. The flying ones are apparently very valuable in battle...just not against a war maiden.

Elen eviscerated the first one, using an attack so powerful that she refuses to use it on people.

I wouldn't say they were a letdown so much as there is a good reason Zhcted is only attacked when they are outnumbered 5 to 1...and even then, only Eleonora was present.

I wonder if the person/entity speaking through the bow is the goddess Tigre prayed to before he decided to try killing Elen.

Actually, Vanadis aren't that all powerful. They are pretty vulnerable to assassination, for one.

This isn't a spoiler because it already happened in the first episode, but the details were cut out. I will tag it anyway and keep it in white text.

Not really a spoiler:

Tigre actually almost killed Elen in their first encounter. The only reason she was able to block his arrows was because he aimed straight at her forehead, twice. Elen deduced where he would aim there because that was where he shot the horses. If Tigre had aimed at her horse or her body, she would have been killed.

#fafafa matches the background. Observe!

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Originally Posted by shinta|hikari

Actually, Vanadis aren't that all powerful. They are pretty vulnerable to assassination, for one.

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You say that, yet she routinely blocks those types of shots with her sword's wind barriers. She can detect the disturbances in the air directly. She did nothing to activate the barrier besides invoking it, but it hit the exact spot the crossbow bolt came it at. Without her moving at all.

Maybe the others are vulnerable to assassination, but we haven't seen any of them yet. I don't believe for a second that Eleonora shares that weak point.

Didn't Tigre warn her about the assassin with the crossbow? She didn't talk to Arifar until after Tigre shouted for her to take cover. It's not like her wind barrier is on all the time.

Agreed, but she didn't look. She didn't move her eyes or head or anything. She spoke and blocked a shot coming from outside her vision.

Nobody with a body of flesh, with a need to eat and breath is safe from assassins. I don't think that's any reasonable measure to gauge if somebody is strong or not, let alone OP. However, if a human can one-shot a dragon in a basic combat with no plan and preparation, I'd say the dragon is a very weak one indeed. In fact it makes me think those things weren't dragons in the first place but drakes, wyverns, or something. Everybody just called them dragons because it sounds cool and impressive. They didn't even try to breath fire.

From what I understand that weapon is somewhat sentient. Or that barrier it made simply would have done that to anything entering it at that time.

I dont understand anything of this show. How did the 1k zched soldiers get into town when there is an army of 3000 in siege? How did the guy with the arrow in the hand escape? Why did the army with the upper hand and a town under siege retreat? Why would no1 try to duel a bowman even in a retarded anime?

If they wouldnt put so much emphasis on "strategy" and trying to look cool with those explations, maps, troop movements etc I wouldnt mind. But this way I feel they are mocking me. "Ohh look how serious and detailed our scripting is about battles and strategy but lets just fill it with nonsensical and stupid plot holes". Also the maid character. Is that really needed? Are japanese anime viewers 10 years old mentally or so depraved?

Will give it a try to the next episode but I doubt I can stand this kind of shows anymore.

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Originally Posted by Edort4

How did the 1k zched soldiers get into town when there is an army of 3000 in siege?

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It wasn't really under siege. The douche prince kept his main army well away from the town since he couldn't afford to let the dragons too close. He merely sent some troops to pillage and kill.

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Originally Posted by Edort4

How did the guy with the arrow in the hand escape?

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I guess he had enough time with his troops providing a distraction.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Edort4

Why did the army with the upper hand and a town under siege retreat?

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The town wasn't really under siege since the people were even able to evacuate in peace. And why did they retreat? Because the douche prince was a coward and wanted to regroup in the open plains that were perfect for their ordinary cavalry tactics.

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Originally Posted by Edort4

Why would no1 try to duel a bowman even in a retarded anime?

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He believed Tigre's side had massive reinforcements incoming, due to the clever plot using riderless horses. So, he planned to demotivate them by showing how their second commander (in addition to Eleonora) would fall like a fool, since he knew Tigre can only use a bow, so he believed he would easily win the duel.

It's funny how people try to criticize a show without giving it some thought.

Oh well if that is the case then its all good. For godsake go watch episode 2. They break down the wooden walls with battering rams. They break from 3 different points with lots of troops. The town is so small they dont even need to siege, thats true. But it was a away of speaking to say/explain that it was under almost full control.

The retarded prince is watching from a hill to a few hundred meters with both dragons behind him. In the next scene you can see that he has the camp there with all the tents aswell. He is so close to the town, with his whole army + 2 dragons, that he even can see the small lords mansion clearly.

But somehow an army that its 500 meters away from town. That has clear vision of all around (as it is shown in that episode), that has troops in the main doors cant see 1000 cavalry with 2000 spare horses coming in fking clear daylight. I could keep going all day but...

You know what. Im not even going to try. I didnt give a single thought to it im stupid and I only criticize it for the sake of doing it with my inferior mind. Go with that.

I didn't say you were stupid.

I find that it is a common trend for people to complain without paying attention to details in a show. That was all I was pointing out.

This show has a lot of time skipping, and that can get confusing. However, most of it can be explained if you don't jump the gun and check the details out. If you aren't enthused enough to do that, then you don't even need to criticize minor details in the first place.

Also, I'm not trying to stop you. Go ahead and keep complaining.

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Originally Posted by Ryll

I wonder if the person/entity speaking through the bow is the goddess Tigre prayed to before he decided to try killing Elen.

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I'm not sure if it's a goddess. I just assumed it was the voice of his sentient magic bow that's on the same tier as the War Maidens'.

I recommend you watch this Tigre-kun to Vanadi-chu 00

It's in chibi form and it shortly explains what Vanadis are and kind of indicates that it was the goddess who spoke to him.

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

I'm not sure if it's a goddess. I just assumed it was the voice of his sentient magic bow that's on the same tier as the War Maidens'.

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Eleonora seemed to assume her magic sword was talking to Tigre through the bow. If she's correct, the bow is just a really nice bow but nothing compared to the War Maiden weapons.

If its the bow mentioned in "Tigre-kun to Vanadi-chu 00" it could be vastly superior to any War Maiden weapon.

Ep3 was really dissapointing, I didn't expect much, but all the intermissions and skipping made the battle look really boring. The initial explanation about each force size/formation was good, they should've stopped there, the rest could've been handled by showing it during the fight.

The maid is really unnecessary - I can't stand characters like her..they are extraordinarily boring and most of the time annoying

HS - Episode 04

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Glorious fanservice, and one well placed snake. That landed nicely near her, umm... central circulation. As funny as that is though, Elen's wardrobe display still wins this episode.

The nailed to a tree headshot wins this episode. I hope the next Elder Scrolls game will allow that.

It was to be expected Eleonora's country wouldn't simply get involved out of charity and goodwill. Although I feel like they totally forgot Brune already sent an army against Zhcted, that's how the whole story began, so what Eleonora did was merely a response. But then again, in monarchies the king naturally tries to retain control. These countries seem to be under feudalism, so the king's desire should be all the stronger, unless it's a puppet king. Brune is a good example of why: The dukes are only nominally loyal to the throne. It seems like Zhcted's monarch is a little better off. Considering what a dirty trick Brune played on Alsace, I don't see why Tigre wouldn't swear loyalty to the king of Zhcted, provided he can keep the county. It would hardly matter. At least he would know he has allies.

Interesting thing is: they keep using some names out of European region(Silesia is a region in Poland, while Ludmiła(sometimes spelled as Ludomiła) is very archaic polish name) - maybe other names are based on regions of europe too - but they are so deformed that we can't get it :P

Timeskips kinda killed this episode, but i get why they were needed.

Alsace is obvious for a French guy.
Brüne is in Germany and Gstaad in Switzerland.

Someone had fun with some regions/cities of Europe.

The world map is pretty similar to central-east europe if you lengthen the central land mass, push france a bit to the north, chibi united kingdom closer to denmark and the black sea to the west into the balcans.

Attachment 1706

Looks a lot like any old map. Landmasses particularly distorted, certain bodies of water or landmasses exaggerated. The southern waters look like a blurred together Italy and Greece.

For example, both Americas. Note the supersized Cuba, tiny Florida, and...India off to the northwest.
http://i.imgur.com/sZHU1f8l.jpg

Episode 5 - Horrible



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I quite liked this episode, even if the plot took such an uber traditional route. Ludmila just had to be an unfortunate individual who was forced to ally with scumbags. It would have been so much better if she had instead chosen that path by carefully calculating the options, and then followed her greed. But no.

Urs was a great character, though. I hope he makes a comeback at some point. I also liked how possessive Eleonora was. It means her and Tigre's marriage is all the more possible! Titta can go marry some stablehand.

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Originally Posted by Kraco

Episode 5 - Horrible
Urs was a great character, though. I hope he makes a comeback at some point.

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You are aware that Urs is Tigre, right?


Very well done episode. Bravo.

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Originally Posted by lelouch

You are aware that Urs is Tigre, right?

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Kraco, this was like the worst insult of a lifetime lol.

Best part of this episode: Lim blushing after dressing Tigre up in the bear suit.

Mila really is a poor judge of character. A bear suit actually managed to fool her...

Elen is amazing. I really love her characterization. She has all the right tropes with all the right twists.

This policy of allowing war maidens to fight each other whenever they think their interests align with that of the state is so wasteful. Armies die over an internal debate.

Yeah, if only "common sense" sided more with logic...

I'm with Buff. All the war maidens are supposed to be serving a single nation. How is it possible that they'd be allowed to fight on behalf of other nations against each other? While it is true that that can't take their weapons away because they are chosen by them instead of given them, by edict the king should be stopping this fight and recalling the both of them to sit tight.

Granted, it makes the series less entertaining when the super powered characters don't fight each other, but their house alliegances should take second place to their nation.

Alsace is currently owned by Eleonora, and that makes it part of their country now, not rife for the taking by someone else.

And yes, the best part of the episode was Limalisha blushing over the bear suit. We don't know if she has a fondness for bears, hairy men, or Tigre (due to him sucking on her boob). It's too bad she's too loyal to Elen to fight her over Tigre. She'll have to settle for someone like baldy.

I said as much before, but since they apparently live under feudalism, a king's power is limited in the first place. It's further limited by what you said: Who's going to take the weapon away from one such as they are? With such a system, the nobles seek alliences and profit from wherever they want. And fight with each other, even, if not especially, within the same nominal country. They did pay homage to the king, but who knows how much of it was theater to keep up the looks of the high society, how much genuine respect.

For a moment, I thought they'd go Lelouch and find a way to destroy the bedrock the Castle is built on.

I wouldn't be surprised if one of the War Maidens has gone rogue. I mean the weapon chooses the War Maiden not the kingdom itself. So it might as well end up in the hands of someone who doesn't give a rats ass about the kingdom. That'd be interesting to see.

I'm looking forward to seeing the space/time-warping maiden. She seems OP and crafty.

@Kraco: I remember your argument that the King may not have that much control over them, but that doesn't stop this behaviour from eating away resources. Elen and Ludmila are fighting for the 4th time already. Other nations must somehow be in poorer conditions than they are to not take advantage of this. (I suppose the other dudes were fighting amongst themselves as well... so they're all dumbasses)

The only other thing I thought of was that the dragon tools tended to pick people of somewhat upright moral standing so the policy somehow works.

Everyone is fighting among themselves. I think that was clear from the attack on Alsace. It's a dumb world, but completely believable.

I really liked how open Tigre was when Elen asked how valuable she was to him. That entire back and forth was fantastic.

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

Other nations must somehow be in poorer conditions than they are to not take advantage of this. (I suppose the other dudes were fighting amongst themselves as well... so they're all dumbasses)

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The regular army of Zhcted looks no worse than anybody else's. Add to that for example just two or three war maidens and only a lunatic would try to attack. They don't need all the war maidens ready and waiting, unless all the other countries suddenly decided to attack them in unison.

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Originally Posted by Kraco

The regular army of Zhcted looks no worse than anybody else's.

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What I'm saying is that it should look worse given all the infighting. All you need is an all-out war between two War Maidens and your country's forces are reduced by 1/7. Given that the Zhcted army is still strong, it means:

1) The War Maidens aren't as stupid/corrupt as humanly possible and any fights were actually "worth it" in terms of benefiting the country, and/or

2) Other countries are going through just as much, if not more infighting than they are so it all evens out.

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Originally Posted by Kraco

I said as much before, but since they apparently live under feudalism, a king's power is limited in the first place. It's further limited by what you said: Who's going to take the weapon away from one such as they are? With such a system, the nobles seek alliences and profit from wherever they want. And fight with each other, even, if not especially, within the same nominal country. They did pay homage to the king, but who knows how much of it was theater to keep up the looks of the high society, how much genuine respect.

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I don't know about that. Back in that episode where Elen reported to the king, he not only accused her of not keeping the nation's interests in mind (to the point where someone had to step in), but managed to put a look on Elen's face that said "Shit, the king does not approve". She also had no real option of giving Alsace to the king if it was formally given to Elen as her property. No matter how you look at it, the king seems to have quite a lot of pull on them.

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

No matter how you look at it, the king seems to have quite a lot of pull on them.

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Perhaps the king is good at playing the war maidens against each other. Like if one behaves too badly, the kind might be able to have two others deal with the rogue one. On the other hand the war maidens should have their own lands and estates, and those can't function if the king cuts all ties. However, none of this means the king would hold a tighter least on them than any regular nobles, that's for sure. Nothing would stop a war maiden from killing the king, aside from another war maiden. If the war maidens got too friendly with each other, and too not friendly with the king, they could throw the king away and have the county ruled by war maidens. So, it could be even essential for the king that the war maidens fight with each other, as long as the country isn't too much weakened.

Btw - Tatra mountain range is a region in Poland(highest mountain range in here)

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Originally Posted by Ryllharu

We don't know if she has a fondness for bears, hairy men, or Tigre (due to him sucking on her boob).

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[Hiryuu] Tigre-kun to Vanadi-chu - 03 [720p H264 AAC][E005AE87].mkv
[Hiryuu] Tigre-kun to Vanadi-chu - 02 [720p H264 AAC][F409EB3B].mkv
[Hiryuu] Tigre-kun to Vanadi-chu - 01 [720p H264 AAC][F4F716E5].mkv
[Hiryuu] Tigre-kun to Vanadi-chu - 00 [720p H264 AAC][4482FC12].mkv


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The fondness is off the charts.

I like how they are actually using bits of the story. I mean in the manga you seem them going on a 'date' in the village doing what they are describing. As well as giving her a teddy. But these are great.

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

The fondness is off the charts.

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Truly. It takes a 100% through and through bear lover to let even Pedobear off the hook. Based on the painting on her wall. I hope it wasn't just the fansubber's doing, considering the background was so static.

HS - Episode 06


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And for this week's dose of boobs, swords and amazing shots.

I really don't see why the fights don't start with our war heroes duking it out against each other, because honestly that's what it comes down to. I'll just have to assume that fights going on elsewhere still matter. Not using dragon attacks against humans is pretty stupid though. You're still killing them, and if not then your men are - with some dying in the process. The only change in outcome is that your men do more work and you leave the enemies with more intact bodies.

Yeah, it looked liked some strange chivalry that she didn't use her true power, despite the black knight having killed a score of soldiers from her side. I can't imagine many things more stupid than getting your and your allies' asses kicked because you don't want to use your real strength against a mere human. She certainly put the cart before the horse.

Another fantasy shot from Tigre. A few unknown variables too many in his equation to make much sense. Other than that, I wonder why he was so shocked being labeled a traitor because that's exactly what he is: He allied himself with a neighbouring country. Of course the alternative was to get his county burned to the ground, but that doesn't change anything. Now he only needs to formally switch sides. Unless he wants to depose the king and the dukes, but according to his speech, he has no such ambitions.

Elen's stupid reservation got Tigre hurt. A single shot of her tornado beam would have slaughtered that knight.

I do understand where she is coming from though. It isn't morality but pride that is getting in her way. She doesn't want to "cheat" and defeat someone supposedly her equal using magic. It would be akin to admitting that she is an inferior warrior, which is actually true in this case.

@Kraco - He is shocked at being labeled a traitor because he never betrayed his country. He only tried to protect his territory from corrupt assholes. He didn't ally himself with Zchted. He technically hired them for his purposes, which has nothing to do with betraying his country.

The whole talk about not using powers is dumbified by the show when she uses it to kill many no names.
It's all about putting partly random values to people, some kind of segregation about how some people are more important than others and the likes.

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Originally Posted by shinta|hikari

@Kraco - He is shocked at being labeled a traitor because he never betrayed his country. He only tried to protect his territory from corrupt assholes. He didn't ally himself with Zchted. He technically hired them for his purposes, which has nothing to do with betraying his country.

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Then he's just stupid. The country is already ruled by corrupt dukes, so even a man with half a brain would understand his own ideals amount to nothing. It's the ruler's right to decide who's a traitor and who is not. No matter how evil the ruler is, he's still the ruler. Besides, he is allied with the neighbouring country, no matter if he did something "technically" or not. If he thinks such technicalities really matter, then he truly is a traitor. He did betray his country but certainly not his county. He already knows he did the only thing he could, but there was a price to pay.

Regarding Tigre prowess with the bow, I guess that it's not just precision. It involves some precognition or forced outcome power.

More random location names were thrown at us, like Nice city or Orange city from the south and France. There are others, but it shouldn't bother anyone anymore as these really are randomly chosen.

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Originally Posted by Kraco

Then he's just stupid. The country is already ruled by corrupt dukes, so even a man with half a brain would understand his own ideals amount to nothing. It's the ruler's right to decide who's a traitor and who is not. No matter how evil the ruler is, he's still the ruler. Besides, he is allied with the neighbouring country, no matter if he did something "technically" or not. If he thinks such technicalities really matter, then he truly is a traitor. He did betray his country but certainly not his county. He already knows he did the only thing he could, but there was a price to pay.

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This is consistent with his character. He is obviously naive and ignorant about dirty politics. Allying with a neighboring country does not make one a traitor. Like you said, the ruler arbitrarily interpreting it as betrayal makes it one.

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Originally Posted by shinta|hikari

Allying with a neighboring country does not make one a traitor.

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He formed a military alliance with a rival, neighbouring country and invited in foreign troops to bolster his own against his own feudal lord (duke) and the king of the country. I can't imagine too many worse offenses to make one a traitor. His only saving grace is that they are living under feudalism, which means he can do whatever he wants with his own domain, as long as he's ready to bear any possible consequences, just like he is right now. But being called a traitor ought to be no surprise.

He defended a territory of Brune against a Brune noble. It would be one thing if he defended a Zchted territory, but infighting is not betrayal. If anything, the one who attacked Alsace should be labeled the traitor.

But if their rules are similar to Zchted, then infighting would be considered okay. For Tigre to have brought Zchted forces into a Brune territory could be regarded as more of a betrayal though in some regards.

Betrayal of what? Tigre isn't plotting anything, and he didn't attack any other Brune territory. He even fought with Mila, a Zchted Vanadis. He is merely infighting with a duke, and that is okay by their world's standards. Calling his actions traitorous just because his mercenaries are from another country is absurd. Outsourcing is not a recent thing. The fact that Zchted was not involved as a nation was even clearly explained by Sophie, a representative of that kingdom.

This is probably a plot by Thernadier for revenge. They did mention that the king was ill or something. We all know that ailing kings in fiction are always puppets or even actually dead.

It's the act that he brought Zchted troops into Brune and compromised their border. This is after Tigre was sent to fight Elen and was taken as a POW. You can join the dots from there.

I'm not agreeing that Tigre is a traitor, but I can see how one could argue so. And yes, the king being ill means he's not making the decisions, or at least thinking straight.

None of us are thinking Tigre is a traitor, Shinta. But it's a different thing for Brune. Nobody is buying Tigre's claim that the Zchted troops are mere mercenaries. I imagine the war maidens are very public figures in Zchted, and now one of them is openly associating with Tigre, on Brune soil, with her troops in tow. Like Bill said, it's far too easy to join the dots. Even if the troops had been perfectly regular mercenaries without a war maiden, the duke still might have managed to get Tigre labeled a traitor because of them. He simply needed the tough knights there to spare his own troops. Plus this might undermine Tigre's alliance. Any noble now might risk becoming an enemy of the king by associating with Tigre.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kraco

He did betray his country but certainly not his county. He already knows he did the only thing he could, but there was a price to pay.

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I just responded to this statement.

[Hiryuu] Tigre-kun to Vanadi-chu - 04 [720p H264 AAC][50FE480E].mkv
[Hiryuu] Tigre-kun to Vanadi-chu - 05 [720p H264 AAC][F3587DB6].mkv

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He went chuuuuu~, and chuuuuu~, and more chuuuu~.

I may like these shorts more than the actual series.

The image they used for the Chuu made me crack up at least 3x.

These short side episodes really show off the rather impressive range Iguchi Yuka has (Limalisha if you don't care about VAs).

She goes all the way from Konoe Subaru to Index and back again...even in the same breath.

HS - Episode 07

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I found it absolutely hilarious that Tigre's show of "talent" to the goddess was ultimately an act of stripping. Titta's hesitating to allow Elen a moment with Tigre lost her points in my eyes. Elen's forceful and possessive, but she knows when a fight is fair.

I in all seriousness, I think I do like the shorts more than the main episodes.

HS - Episode 08

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These fights are still fun to watch, but I'm really just watching with half a brain switched on. It's too much work understanding exactly where and what each fraction is about.

The supreme commander fellow staring at the arrow as it hit him was pretty funny.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

These fights are still fun to watch, but I'm really just watching with half a brain switched on. It's too much work understanding exactly where and what each fraction is about.

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It wasn't that complicated. I liked this ep quite a lot, since little was decided by unnatural powers. Rather, wise tactics and fooling the enemy saved the day. I wish there was more action like that in this show. And in many other shows.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

The supreme commander fellow staring at the arrow as it hit him was pretty funny.

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Time was halted for a few seconds when the camera shifted from the arrow to the commander and he started talking. I don't know how long an alsin is, but looking at the video at large, it can't be as long as meter. They were closer than that. It might be somewhere between a meter and a foot. Random googling tells a wooden longbow arrow travels at around 60 m/s initially. It wouldn't have given the commander this much time to talk even if he had started to talk right away, which he didn't. On the other hand, since the arrow's path wasn't much of a curve at all, despite the distance, I'd guess Tigre's magic bow gives the arrow an initial speed considerably higher, further reducing the time the commander should have had.

Yeah, it was pretty funny, even with the faulty direction of the scene.

Tigre can hit from 300 alsins using a normal bow. He did so in the first episode.

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Originally Posted by shinta|hikari

Tigre can hit from 300 alsins using a normal bow. He did so in the first episode.

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Give me a thousand arrows and I'll hit from 300 alsins!

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Originally Posted by Kraco

Give me a thousand arrows and I'll hit from 300 alsins!

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I think the issue is that other people could not even make an arrow reach 300 alsins, much less hit at that distance.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kraco

It wasn't that complicated. I liked this ep quite a lot, since little was decided by unnatural powers. Rather, wise tactics and fooling the enemy saved the day. I wish there was more action like that in this show. And in many other shows.

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I agree, this episode wasn't that complicated at all and even without thinking it was easy to understand, since there wasn't so much infighting and was actually about countries more or less.

It actually feels like when I watched Bakemonogatari - just let it flow and don't stop to analyse frames/words. Understand what you do on first-pass and gloss over what you don't. Go back and analyse again if you want on the second watch, but at least let the first watch be uninterrupted.

Episode 9 - HS





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Not much happened in this episode. Elen's trip back to Zchted turned out to be a plot device to get her away from Tigre, unless the whole thing was planned and plotted by Ludmila and she somehow gained Eliza's cooperation. If that's the case, I wonder what she's going to ask Tigre to do in return. I doubt Tigre would ever betray Elen, and Ludmila ought to know that, but on the other hand Tigre isn't exactly the smartest man to ever hold a bow, so the favour might bear consequences he wouldn't see before it's too late. Alternatively she fell in love with him like any lady should with the main character dude... I really hope it's not that.

Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to the next battle. It has to be infinitely more interesting than the stupid thing we saw in this episode. Maybe it won't be all chess pieces.

Vanadi-chu Episode 06, 07

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The messenger didn't comment on whether Ludmia was a looker?! And here I was looking forward to seeing if the bearded old man was into little girls. :(

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

The messenger didn't comment on whether Ludmia was a looker?! And here I was looking forward to seeing if the bearded old man was into little girls. :(

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I don't see how the king of an army of slavers wouldn't be.

Tawake.

No one worth their salt is not into little girls.

So, Regin is a VIP. She tried to avoid poisoning, which doesn't make sense since they could kill her at anytime. That means it is a force of habit, and only high ranking nobles are targeted by poisoning.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shinta|hikari

So, Regin is a VIP. She tried to avoid poisoning, which doesn't make sense since they could kill her at anytime. That means it is a force of habit, and only high ranking nobles are targeted by poisoning.

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Yeah, I was thinking along those lines, especially since her rescue was kind of a separate scene. In fact back then I thought saving her would result in somebody sending reinforcements to aid Tigre. It didn't go that far, at least not yet. I also wonder why she doesn't identify herself. Maybe she's related to one of Tigre's enemies? Or is a foreigner, fearing she would be ransomed? Although I don't know why a foreign noble lady would have been fleeing slavers in Brune. Though I suppose she could have been on her way to marry a son of Thenardier or someone else, and her retinue got waylaid.

Episode 10 - HS






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A jolly good episode. The tactics used were actually sound, yet it all started to fall apart naturally when the men couldn't anymore take it. Both Tigre and Ludmila are young (and somewhat super human) and thus inexperienced, so it's no wonder they couldn't predict that breaking point so easily. However, then Tigre's overall nobility, respectful treatment of other people, and all the connections he has managed to create in such a short time saved the day. I wouldn't say that was any deus ex machina either, because honestly speaking there's a limit to how much the Brune nobles could afford to use a foreign invasion as a tool for their own ends. It's no good if they get rid of a domestic competitor if it means losing a large chunk of the country to a neighbour in the process. So, it was given Tigre would receive reinforcements sooner or later, no matter how friendly they would be to him (but they would be allies at the very least as long as the invadering army remains). Good for Tigre they were orders of knights Roland had instructed to aid him.

Despite all that, maybe my favourite part of the episode was still the almost last scene of Tigre and Elen looking at stars together and then holding hands.

I wonder what's the deal with that girl Tigre saved. Why was she still huddling in the shadows in rags? Maybe some people around would recognize her, and she wouldn't want that? Her expression wasn't exactly amiable either.

Mila FTW. That sleeping in the tent scene was awesome. Tigre needs no legal wife. He must seek the harem route.

Disregard women, acquire war maidens.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shinta|hikari

Mila FTW. That sleeping in the tent scene was awesome. Tigre needs no legal wife. He must seek the harem route.

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When you chase two war maidens, you will only get a sword through your guts.

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Originally Posted by Kraco

When you chase two war maidens, you will only get a sword through your guts.

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That's why you go for one. Then war maidens chase you.

Also, I only just now realized his father was named Urz/Urs. So his undercover name wasn't all that random

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NeoCybercoin

Also, I only just now realized his father was named Urz/Urs. So his undercover name wasn't all that random

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He was wearing a bear skin (ursus = bear). It was like using the first word he could think of when asked for a name. A clever man would hardly use his father's name as an alias, but he hadn't planned it all too well beforehand.

Hiryuu - Vanadi-chu Ep 08-12

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Tigre should just be the new king of Zhect with his harem of War Maidens.

Tigre's special luck attribute really is pretty high. Although at the same time one can only wonder if it's really luck that he got to test some high quality breasts while half or fully asleep and thus doesn't really know and remember anything about it.

Thinking about the situation analytically it actually makes sense many of the war maidens find him interesting. After all, he did genuinely gain the infatuation of one of them, and not long after he impressed a second one. It's natural the rest would start to wonder what's it all about. They are kind of similar due to their status and external circumstances. Since they possess high battle prowess, it wouldn't be strange if they all desired a strong and capable man, not some fat court noble who can only carry a ceremonial sword. Yet at the same time their social standing requires them to only look at nobles, most likely. Tigre happens to be a count of much renown and connections already, not to mention nobody can deny his worth in battle. Elen was lucky to claim him first!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kraco

Tigre's special luck attribute really is pretty high. Although at the same time one can only wonder if it's really luck that he got to test some high quality breasts while half or fully asleep and thus doesn't really know and remember anything about it.

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It's really luck. By being groggy, he was easily forgiven. And having done it once, his chances of surviving a "proper grope" increases by quite a lot.

Just finished watching this, and man I really enjoy this kinds of settings and really enjoyed this overall. That said, I thought the beginning of the series oversold the rest of the series. And of course, rush ending!

Yeah, not much to add here. The story was too straight forward, while unnecessarily messy. It had a few cool violent scenes though, and plenty of likable characters. I would've preferred if Elen stayed a bit more ruthless like I thought she was portrayed in the first couple of episodes.

But oh well, guess I'll see about reading the LNs or manga later on. Doubt we'll see more of this.